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So Chicago has been hot.. and by hot, I mean HOT. Humid, sticky, shut all your windows, close all your doors, and sit in front of the AC unit, hot. Ordinarily, the crazy heat doesn’t keep me from cooking, baking, broiling even in my non-air conditioned apartment (Case in point: I made these cabbage roll-ups yesterday), but I’ve been melting and looking for a cool meal for lunch. Don’t judge me for posting a salad recipe.. this one is really good!!

Chimichurri is an Argentinian green sauce often used for grilled meats and consists of fresh herbs, chile, garlic, shallots, olive oil, and some wine vinegar. It’s a summertime staple apparently and has been all over the food blogs lately. It sounded so tasty and I had to give it a shot.

The other night, I shredded some chicken, topped it with fresh avocado slices and drizzled on the homemade chimichurri for dinner. Yum! Then I took the leftover chicken and doused it in the rest of the chimichurri because hello? Can you really go wrong here? I think not.

This afternoon, I whipped up a delicious salad that is so easy, you could probably master it with your eyes closed (Not recommended though, it involves knives). Smitten Kitchen inspired meal!

To start, make your chimichurri sauce. Combine red wine vinegar [can substitute with white wine vinegar], garlic, shallot, pinch of salt and serrano chile in a medium bowl and let stand for 8-10 minutes. Stir in cilantro, parsley, and oregano. Gradually whisk in the olive oil (Fork is best!). Some people like to blend all the ingredients together with a processor, but I like the rustic look better. Totally up to you!

This chimichurri sauce can be a great thing on it’s own. Marinate meats and other proteins. Or use it like a condiment! In this case, I turned it into a salad dressing with just a couple stir-ins of lime juice and greek yogurt!

Combine cucumber, avocado, and chopped lettuce in a bowl. Mix together the chimichurri, lime and greek yogurt, adjusting levels to taste. Slowly fold in the dressing with the ingredients. Top with your favorite protein or eat it as it is! This salad is refreshing, a little spicy, and perfect for a humid hot day! Pop it in a jar and you’re off!

Holy wow! It’s been forever since we’ve made a blog post. What a year it has been!

Mini life-update: I currently work as a full-time social worker at a therapeutic day school in Addison, IL for high school students with emotional disabilities. Francisco is working as Assistant Editor for Hello Mr. Magazine in New York City, NY.

We are still cooking, we are still eating, and we are doing our best to photo document our recipes! Oh, and we’re still best friends!

Tonight I made two pizzas. The first pizza is a staple in my kitchen and a high quality go-to pizza for any occasion: shaved asparagus pizza from my favorite food blogger, Smitten Kitchen.

The second pizza is my latest creation! A quick pizza complete with black beans, poblano peppers, grilled tomatoes, and egg.. I mean, can you really go wrong here? Plus I threw some bacon in for good measure.

Since I made two pizzas tonight using 1 batch of pizza dough, I doubled my ingredients list for this recipe since I figure most people don’t typically make half-pizzas.

Preheat your oven to the hottest temperature it goes, or about 500 in most cases.

In a skillet or a pan, grill your poblano pepper slices until they are tender and have some char then set aside. Next, throw on your hot skillet, the tomato, onion, and garlic and cook until fragrant. Set aside.

If using, cook your bacon and then set it on paper towels to drain out the excess oil.

And now the assembly!

On your pizza dough which is stretched or rolled out to your liking, place a layer of some of the mozzarella cheese and then the parmesan cheese. Then plop on top all of your cooked ingredients except the eggs! Cover with the remainder of your cheeses! Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the pizza to your liking – keep in mind that the cheese and bacon will add a decent amount of salt already!

Cook for approximately 8-10 minutes or until your crust is golden brown!

If using, when your pizza is about 70% done cooking, crack your eggs on top and ensure that the egg white is cooked before serving.

This pizza had a ton of flavor! Plus it is so colorful! You can always change up some of the ingredients. Next time, I might try adding on some grilled corn.

If you’re looking to get fancy, you could also drizzle on some chipotle crema.. or your favorite salsa or hot sauce!

Awhile back, I got a molcajete from Little Village in Chicago. It’s basically a beautifully crafted Mexican mortar and pestle made from volcanic rock. After hours of seasoning it, I’ve made salsas and guacamole and they have been splendid! Spicy, smokey, sweet.. whatever I’m in the mood for – this will be the summer of salsas, dips, and chutneys!

This afternoon, I decided to try something new and whip up some black beans with green chiles to make a delicious “hummus” of sorts. As I was making it, I kept throwing in more things. So feel free to taste and reconfigure as you go through it! Plus, this is a fairly small amount – feel free to double the recipe!

I admit it, I’m a total TV junkie. I like all kinds of shows from Parenthood to Orange is the New Black to MasterChef. Last week on MasterChef, the challenge was to make a riff on blueberry pie. I thought to myself, how great would it be if someone tried using basil? I saw everyone zesting in different citruses like orange or lemon. Then I looked at my container garden in the living room and saw my lemon basil plant looking extra happy today and ready to be baked in a pie!

Got some lovely [way too expensive] blueberries (Michigan Blueberries that taste like heaven) from the Logan Square Farmer’s Market and I was ready!

Now, I do not know what crazy person would choose a 95-degree day to bake a pie at 425 degrees, and yet, here I am. I had to try it! A little sweat doesn’t hurt, and I promise none landed in the pie!

First, line a 9″ pie pan with your first crust. Lightly fold the ingredients together. Be mindful not to smash many blueberries.

Pour in the mixture evenly into the pie crust. I feel that I could’ve used MORE blueberries. Feel free to dabble with that and taste test your ratio with the other mix-ins.

Cut up your second pie crust into strips and make a lattice top and brush with an egg wash (1 egg optional). Here’s our blog post on how to make a lattice top!

Serve with topped a dollop of whipped cream or your favorite ice cream flavor on the side. The crust was a dream, the blueberry filling was just what I wanted – not too sweet, not too sour. Really good flavor!

So I officially graduate with my Master’s in Social Service Administration in a short 12 days. Tomorrow, we are having a potluck with our group to celebrate the year’s end! I knew I wanted to make something vegetarian, seasonal, and hearty. So I went to the store, grabbed all the “spring” I could find in the produce section (sadly, the peas are frozen) and went to work. I didn’t make much, so feel free to be more generous with your ingredients. Here’s what I came up with: Spring Vegetables with Bulgar 1 cob of Corn 1 Leek, trimmed and sliced 1-2 T. Garlic, minced 3 spears of Asparagus, sliced 4 small Carrots, diced 5-6 Marble Potatoes (mixed), diced 1/2 c. Peas 1/2 c. Green Beans, sliced 1/2 c. Brown Mushrooms, minced 1/4 c. Bulgar Wheat 3/4 c. Water Olive oil Thyme, Rosemary, Salt, Pepper (Expert tip!: Take your peelings, stems, cobs and place them in a gallon size bag in the freezer. As you cook with more fresh produce, collect these trimmings. Once the bag is full, heat up with some water, herbs, and make your own fresh veggie stock!) In a deep pot, heat some olive oil on high. Once the oil is hot, sauté the garlic and leeks until the leeks are tender. Next, throw in your carrots and potatoes and stir occasionally. Stir in fresh thyme and rosemary stems or dried herbs. As they carrots and potatoes start to brown, mix in the green beans, mushrooms, and asparagus. Season with salt and pepper. As the mushrooms begin to release liquid, turn the heat down to medium. Continuing stirring occasionally and add in your peas and corn. Remove the herb stems. Once the corn starts to gain some rich yellow coloring, stir in your bulgar and water. Turn on high. As the water begins to boil, turn the heat down to simmer and cover. The bulgar takes about 8 – 10 minutes to cook. Give it a few final whips with the wooden spoon and serve hot! Or place into a casserole dish to re-heat! It can be served as a side dish or an entree!

One of my favorite places to be in the entire world is in the kitchen with my Ngin-ngin (grandmother). Watching her in the kitchen as she scoops up some rice, mixes together a sauce, or guesstimates various measurements with a splash or a dash has always made the kitchen a whole lot less intimidating. I’ve actually featured a recipe by her on this blog about 2 years ago.

Today, we decided to attempt making Sweet and Sour Chicken. Even though Ngin-ngin refers to it as an American “Chinese” dish, she really likes it! While cooking, she said to me, “Restaurant, they make you pay $10.99. And they give so little! But this is so easy. They are so crazy.”

So if you go bonkers for American “Chinese” dishes, too, I recommend you try this recipe out! There are a couple of variations that you can make along the way and even as we were eating ours, we kept thinking about modifications. So don’t feel tied down by this recipe!

After trimming and slicing up your ingredients, place the diced chicken on a plate. Season the chicken with 1 T. Soy sauce, 1 T. Sugar, and some dashes of salt. Next scramble up the egg and pour on top. Mix all of the ingredients together!

Next, we have to flour the chicken. You can either be fancy and dredge the chicken pieces in flour. Or, if you’re like us, you can just pour the flour onto the mixture and just make sure that all of the pieces are covered.

Once the chicken is ready, take out a wok, place it on high heat and fill it with corn oil. You should have enough oil so that the chicken will be covered (about 2-3 inches). Once the oil is nice and hot, (we check using some chopsticks – place your chopsticks in the oil and if bubbles start to surround the sticks, you are ready!!) pour in about 1/2 of the chicken. As you place the chicken pieces into the oil, make sure to separate them so that they do not stick together. Let cook with occasional stirring until the chicken pieces are fried to a perfect golden brown.

Scoop and strain them up and set on a plate (with optional paper towels to sop up the oil). Repeat with your second batch!

Once all the chicken is done, remove about 95% of the oil from the wok. Next, sauté your onions, bell peppers, and (optional) pineapple on medium to high until they are almost soft – but not quite.

Pour in the vinegar and water and bring to high heat. Let the onions and peppers cook in the mixture until it comes to a boil. While that is cooking, in a small bowl, mix together the corn starch, 2 T. soy sauce, 1 T. sugar, and about 2 T. water.

Once the mixture has come to a boil, taste one of your bell pepper pieces or onion to see if the sour flavor is to your liking. If not, feel free to add more vinegar. If it is right, pour in the honey and soy sauce mixture. Stir quickly! This sauce thickens up fast!

Once again, taste your mixture! If you think it needs more sweet, add in some more honey or sugar.

Last, mix in the fried chicken pieces and turn off the heat. Ready to go!

Serve hot over rice.

Admittedly, we felt that our dish was a bit more sour than we would’ve liked, but I am not a huge fan of entrees that are overly sweet anyway. Next time, we’ll have to try adding a bit more sugar or honey to the sauce. But adding pineapple also could’ve given us a nice natural sweetness, too!

What to do with a bunch of celery stalks sitting in your fridge just waiting to be used.. Looking for a quick appetizer or a light lunch? This soup is absolutely refreshing and a perfect welcome to Spring time.. or at least an encouraging nod towards sunshine!

To make the croutons: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. On a medium sized cookie sheet, lined with either a silpat or aluminum foil, place the bread pieces in one layer. Bake the bread for about 10 minutes. Once the bread has dried out and lightly browned, pour on the 2-3 T. of olive oil evenly across the croutons. Continue to bake until each piece is perfectly golden brown! Once the croutons are ready, if you’d like, evenly grate some fresh parmesan cheese on top!

For the soup: In a medium soup pot on medium heat, heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic, celery and kale for about 4-5 minutes with a pinch or two of salt, herbes de provence, black pepper, and the first 2 T. of dijon mustard. Then add the water/broth, increase the heat to high and cover.

Once the liquid is boiling, bring heat down to let it simmer. Once the celery and kale are tender, pour in the coconut milk and green onion. Stir it up!

Turn off the heat, either using an immersion blender or a regular blender, blend up the soup to your preferred consistency. I like it extra smooth. Once the soup is to your liking, throw in some more dijon mustard. Give a pour of your red wine vinegar (I “guess-timated” about 3 T.). Finally, season the soup to your liking! I decided to add some more rosemary and thyme to the soup, but feel free to play around with flavors!

Serve hot with some parmesan croutons on top! This soup was refreshing, bright, and had a great zest. The crispy croutons were a perfect compliment to the lightness of the soup. The flavors were perfect for lovely Spring day!

Now if only Chicago could get it’s act together and bring on Spring! Here’s to hoping for warmer weather soon!

And it also happens to be one of my guilty pleasures – actually, I am not that guilty about it. Not at all.

For the Super Bowl, I decided to try out making elote in casserole form with all the ingredients still in it, plus some garlic, green chiles and red onion for some extra flare! I can’t take all the credit though, props to Food & Wine + The Food In My Beard for popping up on my google search and proving to me that this idea wasn’t all that crazy.

It works well as a side dish, a dip for chips, or a great addition to a taco!

In a medium size mixing bowl, mix together the green onion, cilantro, mayonnaise, cheese, and spices. Feel free to take culinary liberties in the different amounts of spice used. If you prefer spicier, add more cayenne. If you like it a little smokier, throw on some more paprika. Make sure to taste as you go along! Next add some lime juice from 1 lime and about 1-2 tsp. of lime zest.

If you prefer spicier, add more cayenne. If you like it a little smokier, throw on some more paprika. Make sure to taste as you go along! Next add some lime juice from 1 lime and about 1-2 tsp. of lime zest.

In a medium-large size oven-safe pot, spray or brush with oil and put on high heat. Grill the corn until it starts to char or brown, then throw in the red onion, garlic, and chiles. As the onions start to release moisture, turn the heat down and let it simmer until majority of the moisture is evaporated.

Turn off the stove and pour in the mayonnaise mixture with the corn. Whip it up so that all of the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Add a little more cheese on top and pop it in the oven for approximately 45 minutes or until the whole mixture starts to bubble!

Serve hot with some warm tortillas or chips. Don’t forget the lime wedges!

This was a big hit with everyone! I admit that I put a lot more cayenne than this recipe says since I like it pretty spicy. It had an amazing kick and paired really well with the caramelized red onion. The only thing that I wish was that the corn grilled a bit better. This would be awesome to make in little ramekins as well! Try it out!

So I made ratatouille the other day and I had some leftover eggplant. I decided to have a lavish meal since I am officially on winter break! I was also in need of clearing out some things in my fridge. My aunt bought some skewers of herbed goat cheese and roasted beets for me this past weekend and I wanted to use those, too! This was the end result:

After slicing up the eggplant into thin vertical slices, I decided to whip up the herbed goat cheese with cream, lemon juice, and the minced beets resulting in this beautiful pink!

Then I placed it in the fridge to stay fresh.

Then, I brushed the eggplant slices with olive oil and lightly sprinkled cracked black pepper and salt. I placed them in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes.

While the eggplants were roasting, in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, I placed 1 T. of olive oil and sautéed some minced garlic. Then I poured in the can of diced tomatoes. Seasoned with oregano, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes.

I added about 3/4 c. of water and brought the sauce to a boil then let it simmer. Once the eggplant was ready, I let it cool for a few minutes and then rolled them up. I placed about 3/4 – 1 T. of goat cheese mixture inside and put them into a greased baking dish.

Once in the dish, I poured in my tomato sauce and placed the slices of mozzarella cheese on top just covering the eggplant.

Since all of the ingredients are already cooked, the last step is broiling the cheese on top. I set the oven to broil and let the eggplants cook for another 5 – 6 minutes until the cheese had all melted and began slightly browned on top!

I served my eggplants with couscous and took the remaining sauce left in the dish and placed more on top.

While there were quite a few steps involved, this dish was well-worth the effort! The cheese inside was rich and creamy which paired perfectly with the spicy and acidic tomato sauce on top. If I could change anything, I would probably have just made more and maybe incorporated more beets into the goat cheese mixture. The beets were not super prominent in the dish, but I did love the color they added to the cheese.

This evening, I was in search of a hearty, warming, and extra-filling dinner to be paired with fresh-from-the-stalk Brussels Sprouts that Esther brought home from California and spicy mashed sweet potatoes leftover from Thanksgiving.

My sister, Jenny, suggested trying out a lentil loaf. While time consuming, it was totally fun and worth the experiment! Not perfect, but pretty tasty! Apologies that it looks so unappetizing..I promise it was good!

Prepare the lentils in water with 1 T. of tomato paste mixed into the water and the bay leaves. While the lentils are cooking, in a medium sized skillet on medium-high heat, sauté the onions, garlic, and celery until the onions become translucent and golden. While they are cooking, add in the dijon mustard, the other T. of tomato paste, the herbs and spices. Then fold in the cherry tomatoes. Once cooked through, pour into a mixing bowl.

Drain the lentils and pick out the bay leaves. Pour in the lentils into the mixing bowl and mash ’em up! Add the remaining dijon mustard. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the eggs and breadcrumbs into the lentil mixture until it becomes cohesive. Pour in about 1 T. of olive oil.

In a heavy pan, either sprayed/brushed with oil, form your loaf. Bake the loaf at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Then bake at 400 degrees for another 5-10 minutes.

Take out the loaf and let it stand for a couple minutes so it’s cool enough to cut. Slice it up and serve!

I have to say, this loaf was extremely flavorful, but did lack a good amount of moisture. I think it can be remedied with less breadcrumbs, more olive oil, maybe some mushrooms, and a beautiful tomato glaze. I ended up whipping up a glaze for my leftovers with some tomato paste, soy sauce, dijon, apple cider vinegar, and a dab of honey, but use the glaze of your choice! Even a sweet ketchup glaze would be yummy!